Woody's Original Mountain Music

Last night, Cashflow and I set out into a gray, rainy evening in the mid-30's and headed for Marion, thankful that we didn't get the snow or ice that had been predicted all week. I had called Max Woody earlier in the afternoon to ask him a few questions about Woody's Original Mountain Music which is a free venue that takes place every Friday in Marion across from Max Woody's Chair Shop. He told me the weather there was about the same as Hendersonville, but that if it got worse he'd put me and Cashflow up for the night until we could get home. That was all I needed to hear to ease any concerns about the roads possibly freezing over, so we left around 5:15pm and headed towards the event.

When we arrived around 6:45pm, Mr. Woody went out of his way to greet us and make sure we got some spaghetti since we hadn't eaten yet. The spaghetti dinners were free, but they were asking for donations for a local family whose house had recently burned down. Cash and I gladly donated for our meals and to help the family. Everyone was very friendly and treated us like "family" from the moment we walked in. It reminded me of the atmosphere and reception you receive at a spirit-filled church gathering. As Cash and I set at a table off to the side eating our meals, several people came over and introduced themselves to us. At one point Mr. Woody came over and told us about the history of Foxfire; a regional organization of events and book publishing. He invited us to be his guests at the next Foxfire gathering and we told him we'd do so. He also told us to come back sometime so he could show us around his chair shop.

Around 7 0'clock the event opened with a prayer from a local pastor followed by the first of three bands. Woody's Original Mountain Music is a smaller, more intimate venue than the Bluegrass Music Jam or Old Fort Mountain Music. There's more of a focus on listening to the bands than on dancing and socializing. Dancing is permitted if one is so moved, but clogs aren't allowed since the noise would take away from the music. Mr. Woody told us that this is one of the reasons he started this venue after parting ways with Old Fort Mountain Music. Those in attendance were predominately "older folks" with just a few who might have been mid-40's. Cash and I definitely stood out as the "young men" from Hendersonville.

After the first band finished their set one of the band members came and sat next to me at the table off to the side. We shared a plate of mini powdered doughnuts during the second band's set. This band played several Hank William's numbers among other things. At one point Mr. Woody joined them on fiddle to play "Freight Train". My dad use to play this song on guitar and sing it to me when I was little and it brought back a lot of memories.

The third, and final, band was two gentlemen from Hickory, North Carolina who were making their debut at the venue. One man played the fiddle and the other played a "green" banjo. His "green" banjo looks like a mini version of a regular banjo. I won't tell you why he calls it a "green" banjo in case you ever get a chance to catch these guys and hear the story yourself. Their set came with several comical stories that would be told between songs. This banjo player was a very good storyteller and a good entertainer. One of their numbers was an old Shaker song, and while I sat listening I couldn't help but feel that I was about as close as one in the 21st century could be to sharing an authentic musical experience of my Quaker ancestors, the early Brinton settlers in Pennsylvania. For one song the banjo player brought out his "dancing bear" and for the entire song he danced his bear (see picture below) while the fiddler played. He then let a couple people in the audience try dancing the bear during other songs. He also passed out some spoons at one point so that audience members could play the spoons along with them. Their debut performance was a real hit with the crowd and after their last song (the crowd was invited to sing "You Are My Sunshine" along with them; another song my dad sang to me as a small boy) they were heartily invited to return again sometime. Like them, I'm sure I'll do the same.